Vertical sliding sectional door and operating means therefor



Sept. 26, 1950 H. E. ROHRMAN 2,523,844

VERTICAL SLIDING SECTIONAL DOOR AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR I Filed June 27, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 19 Is Q INVENTOR.

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VERTICAL SLIIDJ ING SECTIONAL DOOR AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Fi led June 27, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 inv ntor atented Sept. 26, 1950 oirrzo STATES PATENT OFFICE}.

VERTICAL SLIDING SECTIONAL DOOR AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Henry E. Rohrman, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application June 27, 1945, Serial No. 601,892-

3 Claims.

1 My invention relates to sectional vertical slidingdoors. The main purpose of my invention is to provide vertically movable horizontally sectional sliding doors with horizontal tubular re-enforcing rods to carry independent door sections.

A further purpose is to use U-shaped tracks at both sides of the door, in which tracks tubular re-enforcing rods, are adapted to operate. These carry the door sections.

A further purpose is to provide U-shaped tracks of different lengths for different sections of the door.

A further purpose is to provide a door with independent sectional-members, which while it is lifted picks up the section of the door imme- V diately above it.

Anotherpurpose is to provide sections of a vertically sliding door with projections on one section which are adapted to engage projections upon another section and carry the other section when the first mentioned section is lifted.

A further purpose is toprovide sectional doors with vhollow pipe re-enforcing members with which independent. sections of the door are adapted to engage when the door is in closed Y or opened position.

A further purpose is to use sliding guides which are fastened to the independent door sections.

A further purpose isto provide a door which can'be opened or closed Without the use of weights or springs to counterbalance the door, byusing low' torque, high speed, instantly stopping and starting mechanism;

A further purpose is to provide instant starting and stopping by automatic brake means.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of my improved door structure.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the structure of Figure 1, showingtheinside of the door and with the door in closed position.

Figure 2a is an enlarged fragmentary View of a position of Figure 2, illustrating a detail of the chain connection with the lowest door Figure 3 is a diagrammatic perspective of a detail of Figures 1 and 2 showing the U-shaped tracks as used in the above mentioned figures to enlarged scale.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section of Figure 2 taken on the line 4-4 thereof showing'the independent door sections in lowered or closed po- Sition and to enlarged scale".

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectionlto enlarged scale showing a modification and taken on line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken on the line 'I-l of Figure 6, some of the parts being omitted.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 8-43 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a perspective View of the door lifting and lowering mechanism with a brake applied thereto.

Figure 9d is a fragmentary side elevation of the braking device of Figure 9, but showing a slight modification.

Figure 10 is a top plan View showing structure similar to Figure 9, and to reduced scale.

Figure 11 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Figure 10.

Figure 12 is an end elevation of the structure shown in Figure 11.

My improved door is intended to be used in buildings such as freight stations, transfer or storage houses, and in garages where it is desirable to open and close doors quickly and reliably.

In Figure 1, I have shown a top plan view which clearly illustrates four U-shaped tracks 15;!6; ll and I8 on one side of the door and I5, 16, II'and l8" on the other side of the door. These U-shaped tracks are desirably made up of separate parts as will be more fully described.

hereinafter.

' Within'the U-shaped tracks in Figures 1 and 2 are positioned door sections [9, 20, 2| and 22. Each door sectionat its lower horizontal end is curved'at 23 to conform with the outside shape of a tubular re-enforcing bar 24 extending along the lower edge. The edge of the curved portion 23 of each door section is welded at 25 to the tubu lar bar. The lowermost door section I 9, at its upper edge is curved at 26, to' conform with the shape of the horizontal tubular'bar. This is because of 3 a desire for a fairly tight closure when the door section is lowered. This is also true of the meeting edges of other sections of the door.

Mounted on each of the curved portions 26 is a bracket 2? securely welded at 28 and 23 to the curved upper portion and to the front of the door section.

The door section 23 immediately above the door section I9 is similar in construction to the door section l9 and has the corresponding curved ends 23 and 26'. The same is true of the door section 2| immediately above the door section 20. The same'curved ends are used in this door section as in the ones previously mentioned and these curved ends are designated as 23 and 26 Mounted on the top of the door section 23 is a bracket 21. This bracket 2'i is mounted in a similar manner to the bracket 21 attached to the lower door section l9. On the door section however, the additional bracket is secured to the bracket 21 at each side of the door, with its extension rearwardly adapted to beengaged by the bracket 21 of the door section 9 when the door section I!) is being raised to open the door.

It will be obvious that when the section I9 is raised, the brackets which are carried by the upper portion of the section will come in contact with. the brackets 30, which project inwardly from the door 20 and a continued upward move ment of the door section l9 will raise the door section 20. At the same time the rod 24 will be carried upwardly within the U-shaped tracks.

By a continued upward movement of the door sections the projections carried by the door section 20 will then engage projections 30' of the door section 2| and accordingly raise the door section 2| and completely open the door. It will be noted that the section 22 is not moved. This section is a stationary one and is placed in the short sections l5 and i5 of the U-shaped track.

In Figure 4 the view is somewhat diagrammatic and the tracks are not illustrated. H owever, in dot and dash lines, the door sections are shown nested at 3|, in raised or opened position.

The U-shaped guides are preferably made of separate U-shaped pieces welded together in any desired manner. This is clearly shown in Figure 5. Also in Figure 5a, near the edges of this door section and at the outside edges of the reenforcing tube, the brackets 21, 21', 27 are notched at 32, and each door section is notched at 33, 33' and 33 to fit about the adjoining flanges 34 of the U-shaped tracks. These are additional guiding means for the door sections when they are raised and lowered. These later guiding means also aid in keeping the door structure in a secured position when the whole door is closed.

Mounted on the door sections and secured at their ends, to the tubular re-enforcements are vertical sliding guides 35, 36, 3'! and 38 also 35, 36', 31 and 381 The vertical members 35, 36, 31 carry at their upper ends additional guiding arms 39, and 4|; 39', 40' and 4|. These arms 39,40 and 4|; 39, 49' and 4| are apertured and are adapted to span one of the sliding guides directly above the door section on which it is mounted. In other words, when one door section is raised in addition to the guiding of the door section by the tubular re-enforcement engaging the U-shaped tracks, the edge of the door is guided by the notched engagement of the bracket 21, and in addition to the vertical slide guides will prevent the sections from warping.

The door is raised or lowered by means of chain and sprocket connections. The chains 42 and 42 have their lower ends 43 and 44 secured to yokes 45 and 45', which yokes terminate in threaded ends 46, and are inserted through openings 4"! in brackets 48, positioned at the bottom of the lowest door section H]. The yoke is held in place by means of a nut which is threaded on to the end 46 of the yoke with the nut coming in contact with a flange 49 on the bracket 48. This will securely fasten both chains to the lowest door section in order that the doors may be raised and lowered by chain control.

At the upper part of the door an idler sprocket 50 is mounted in bearings 5|. At the opposite side of the door at the top thereof, the lifting mechanism is illustrated diagrammatically in Figures 1 and 2.

If desired corrugations 54 may be provided on the door sections to aid in strengthening the doors. Each one of the three lower U-shaped track sections are angularly positioned with respect to the opening in the doorway. The uppermost section, however, is in the same plane as the opening in a building. This, however, is immaterial as it is only a matter of preference that the door sections be arranged in this manner as they could very conveniently be arranged to have the door sections operate vertically.

It will be evident that the angular positioning of the door sections in Figure 4 is desirable because of the proper drainage requirements in the door closures. It will be noted that the upper door section, which is the stationary one in which the section or trim is in a vertical position, provides suificient closure from the elements, as this section of the door does not move. However, in the lower sections which are movable, it has been found to be quite desirable to have the door sections mounted on an angle with respect to the door opening to divert the water outwardly away from the door proper.

It will be obvious that with the arrangement of the door sections in which the ends of the doors are curved inwardly about the tubular supporting rods, will prevent the water from leaking into the door sections.

It will be evident that the upper edge of a lower section operates upon the lower edge of an upper section in the same manner precisely whether it be the lowermost or second section, or the corresponding edges of the upper movable sections.

Each lower section in turn engages and lifts the section above for the entire range of the doorway opening.

At the top, the upper section is not movable and is merely a trim, so that the top section and the next lower section do not have this carrying relation between them, but in each case where two sections move the lower one, on its upper movement carries the upper one with it by means of a bracket on the upper edge of the lower section engaging the bracket on the upper edge of the section below.

The door operating mechanism may be enclosed in any suitable casing 52, such as that illustrated in Figure 2.

The chains 42 and 42' which are secured to the lowest sections of the door are operated by sprockets 53 and 53'. These sprockets are mounted upon a shaft 53 which has bearings in the casing 52. Also mounted upon the shaft 53 isa worm gear 54, which meshes with a worm 55, upon a shaft 56 in suitable bearings, not shown. At one end of the shaft 56 a gear 51 is accents The opposite end of the shaft 55 carries a hub or drum 6i, which is securely fastened to the shaft 56. Surrounding the hub M are braking arms 52 and 6.3. These braking arms carry rake shoes fir! .and 565, which engage the outside surface of the hub El. The arms 82 and t3are pivoted at 5,6 and till in a bracket 88, which may be secured in any desirable manner to the easing 52.

, The braking arms 52 and 53 also carry at their outer ends r sil ent armsfifi and 70, whic r vide a double wedge space and surround a rod II attached to a bracket arm 12, which is secured to a bracket 73.

The extreme outer ends of the resilient arms 69 and iii are provided with spring compression mechanism M, which comprises in Figure 9 a rod rigidly fastened to the arm Id and passing through the arm 69. The outer end of the rod '55 is threaded at T6 for anut H, which provides for adjustment of a spring 18 to control the pressure of the arms 69 and Hi surrounding the shaft 'H.

The bracket l3 has apertures 19 and 80 to allow for movement of the sprocket chain 42'. The chain 42, which carries stops Bland 82 to tilt the bracket '53 about the shaft 53 through straps l3 fastened to a collar 13 on the shaft 53 and thereby move the shaft ll through the bracket extension 12 into and out of braking engagement between the shaft and the resilient arms Bil and Hi.

In Figure 9a a slight modification of the compression spring arrangement is shown. The springs 18 and F8 are placed about the rod 15 on each side of the arms 69 and W. In some installations this form of compression arrangement with respect to the arms 69 and 10 is found to be more desirable especially when applied to a larger sized opening and a larger sized motor.

A handle 83 is also connected to the bracket l3 and with this handle independent manual operation of the door can take place by an operator, without depending upon the automatic operation.

The handle 83 has an'extension bar '84 which operates the reversing switch 85. This operation is accomplished. by a vertical up-and-down movement. The switch can be mounted anywhere within reach of the arm 83, but should be as close to the motor as possible. The reason for this is that it requires less wiring. It may be placed on the motor if desired.

By the up-and-down movement of the arm the switch makes two different contacts-one which causes the motor to go clockwise, and the other one counterclockwise; This permits the door to move up and down. As the arm is connected to handle 83 the switch will automatically be turned off when the stops 8| or 82 engage the bracket 13.

To open the door, the'handle 83 is pushed upwardly thereby pushing the bracket 53 and at the sametime turning on the switch 85. This is done by an upward movement. This pushes the bracket l3 downwardly, thereby forcing the braking arms 52 and 63 away from one another, allowing the brake to run free. The motor 60 revolves the shaft 59. The gear 53 on the shaft 59 also revolves and turns the gear 51, shaft 56 and worm 55. The worm 55 meshes with the worm wheel 54 and turns the shaft 53 thereby revolvingithe sprockets .53and53, then moving the chainsfilZ. and 32 upwardly. As the chains t2 ands? Lmove upwardly the lowest section of the door is liftedupwardly. As the lowest sectionofthe doorcontinues upwardly it carries .the next door section above it, and as the second .s'door section 7 previously mentioned are carried upwardly one of them engages the third section,

which is carriedIupwardly into the position in .Figure-where in dot and dash lines the three door sections-are shown in raised position.

To close the door the handle is pushed downwardly thereby reversing the above action.

Df course,- my invention may be made in differ- .ent sizes. I donot confine myselfto any particular numberof sections, although in the illustration. herewith, I have preferred to show four sections of the door.

The height of each door will of course, determine the number of sections, also the number of U tracks. Also I do not wish the height of each section limited to two circular re-enforcements, but may have as many as necessary for stiffening each section.

The number of sliding guides is immaterial, and these will be determined when it is found how many are necessary when installation is made to comply with the requirements.

The worm and worm gear must be of self locking design.

The whole power unit is encased in a casing, and runs in an oil bath, thereby lubricating the gears at all times.

My braking mechanism is very simple in construction; it is positive in operation and can easily be repaired.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention What I claim as new and. desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a vertically liftable door, a plurality of parallel channel-like guides at opposite sides each extending from the top to a different distance downward and thereby determining the downward limit of movement, a plurality of vertically movable horizontally extending sheet metal door panels each in one of the guides at each side, and .a tube secured to the bottom of each door panel and extending into the guide at each side, the top of each door panel being curved into the path of the tube on the adjoining door panel above the position of such tube.

2. In a vertically liftable door, a plurality of parallel channel-like guides at opposite sides each extending from the'top to a different distance downward and thereby determining the downward limit of movement, a plurality of vertically movable horizontally extending sheet metal door panels each in one of the guides at each side, a tube secured to the bottom of each door panel and extending into the guide at each side, the top of each door panel being curved into the path of the tube on the adjoining door panel above the position of the tube and a slider secured at the curved top of each door panel and engaging the guide.

3. In a vertically liftable door, a plurality of 7 parallel channel-like guides at opposite sides each extending from the top to a different distance downward and thereby determining the downward limit of movement, a plurality of vertically movable horizontally extending sheet 5 metal door panels each in one of the guides at each side, a tube secured to the bottom of each door panel and extending into the guide at each side, the top of each door panel being curved into the path of the tube on the adjoining door panel above the position of the tube, intermediate vertically extending guides on each door panel, one vertically in line with another and a rider from the intermediate guide of each door panel engaging the guide of the door panel above when the panels are in their lowermost position.

HENRY E. ROI-IRMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 140,839 Mettler July 15, 1873 1,385,023 'Parodi et a1. July 19, 1921 1,628,511 Petersen May 10, 1927 1,662,709 Korn Mar. 13, 1928 2,007,552 Vetterlein July 9, 1935 2,254,150 Kingsland Aug. 26, 1941 2,339,570 Jackson Jan. 18, 1944 2,371,764 Leger Mar. 20, 1945 

